
Book T^^ g 






f 



VEPORT OF 



i:\ B1:.HALF OF 



rs bv the hre in Portland, iviame. 



Washinuton, D. 0., February J, 1867. 

Hon. Augustus E. yTEVKNS. Mayor of Forfkmd, Maine: 

SiK— In transmitting to you tlie figures showing the result 
of eftbrts in this city to raise funds for the sufferers by the 
great fire in Portland on the 4th of July last, it seeuis proper 
that you should be informed of the history of our work. 

Very soon after the sad news of the calamity had reached 
this city, measures were taken to call a public meeting of 
all among the transient and resident population here who 
desired to lend succor to the destitute and houseless in Port- 
land. Prominent among the movers in this was John A. 
Poor, Esq., and much of the efficiency of the work accom- 
plished is owing to the large and thorough plan he recom- 
mended. The first meeting was held on Tuesday evening, 
July 10, 1866, at the City Hall. Mayor Wallach presided. 

The Hon. Horatio King presented the following preamble 
and resolution : 

"Whereas the city of Portland, Maine, was visited by a 
destructive and calamitous fire on the night of the 4th mst., 
by which the largest part of the business portion of the city 






was destroyed and many thousands of its people reduced tu 
want, entailing upon a whole community an amount of suffer- 
ing and loss heretofore unparalleled in our country : 

'' Resolved, That the people of Washington, and of other 
sections of tlie country now sojourning in it, here assembled, 
express their cordial sympathy with their friends in Portland, 
whose beautiful city is laid waste, and their readiness to 
contribute, each according to his means, to relieve the neces- 
sities of those who have never failed to remember others in 
like affliction." 

On motion of Gen. Howard, an executive committee was 
appointed, composed of the following gentlemen: Hon. H. 
J. Anderson, A. C. Spalding, Hon. Horatio King, George 
A. Bailey, Isaac (J. Nesmith, L. Deane, A. Pickard, J. F. 
Hartley, George W. McLellan, Wm. Orme, Horatio Bridge, 
and Hon. E. B. French. 

Tliis committee met at the City Hall on Wednesday even- 
ing, July 11, and among those present, in addition to the 
Committee, were Hon. Wm. P. Fessenden, Maj. Gen. 0. 0. 
Howard, Senator Howe, of Wisconsin, Secretary McCulloch, 
Hon. Horatio King, Hon. John H. Rice, Hon. S. Perham, 
Ex-Gov. H. J. Anderson, Hon. E. B. French, and Hon. R. 
Wallach. 

Hon. S. Perham was elected chairman, Llewellyn Deane, 
secretary, and Wm. S. Huntington, treasurer. Various 
reports were then made of donations and collections, which 
indicated the liveliest sympathy in this community in behalf 
of the needy and suffering among you. The reports were 
chiefly from Maine men who had earnestly and of their own 
accord set about at once doing what they could to gather 
means for alleviating the present great distress in your sor- 
rowing city. The munificent contribution of $1,000 by 
George A. Bailey, Esq., formerly of Portland, but for many 
years in business here, was also announced. This, we believe, 
is the largest donation by any one person in the numerous 
contributions made in this behalf all over the land, and the 
promptness and quietness with which it was done renders it 
all the more praiseworthy. 



The touching appeal published under authority of yourself 
and Messrs. Barnes and McLellan was also read. Generous 
contributions were then made by Gen. Howard, Secretary 
McCulloch, C. A. Pitcher, Esq., and others. 

The committee proceeded to district the whole city care- 
fully, and appointed sub-committees for all these, as follows: 

President's House — Hon. Hugh McCulloch. 

State Department — George E. Baker, Esq. 

War Department — Col. H. Clay Wood and Maj. S. Dana. 

Treasury Department — Messrs. J. F. Hartley and T. J. 

HOBBS. 

Interior Department — Messrs. A. C. Spaulding and L. 
Deane. 

Post OfKce Department — Hon. G. W. McLellan and Hon. 
Horatio King. 
. Navy Department — Messrs. H. Bridge and S. P. Brown. 

Quartermaster General's Office — Thomas K. Jones and J. 
H. Kimball. 

Internal Revenue Bureau — Messrs, E. A. Rollins and 
Charles E. Pike. 

Second Auditor's Office — Hon. E. B. French. 

Freedmen's Bureau — Brig. Gen. Charles H. Howard and 
W. P. Drew. 

jSTavy Yard — Admiral Smith. 

Senate — Hon. Xoah Smith, T. S. Perry, and A. Pickard. 

House of Representatives — Hon. Sidney Perham. 

Pay Department — I. C. Nesjiith. 

Booksellers and Printers — Geo. A. Bailey. 

Bankers and Brokers — Ex-Gov. Anderson and W. S. Hun- 
tington. 

In accordance with a vote, a committee was appointed to 
wait on the ministers of Washington and confer with them 
in relation to taking up subscriptions in their churches. 

The next day subscription papers were prepared, at the 
head of which was a copy of the ""appeal"' above referred 



to. I send you with this letter these original papers, which 
may be interesting for present and future examination. A 
circular letter was also addressed to the pastors of the several 
churches, communicating the above vote, and their response 
is indicated by the items in the accompanying account. At 
a later day a second circular was issued, asking for donations 
of clothes. A copy of each circular is herewith enclosed. 

The work was pushed on with great zeal. On all hands 
the collectors met with the most cordial sympathy, though 
most of those called on for help had no social or business 
relations with Portland and were strangers to her citizens and 
our State, Every one seemed to feel the urgency of the call 
and a generous willingness to respond. In some instances 
the amounts mentioned in the lists do not indicate the entire 
donation by individual signers. Many gentlemen sent sums 
of money privately to personal friends whose needs they had an 
especial interest in ministering to. Above 8900 are known to 
the executive committee to have been sent in this way, and 
there was doubtless more. Members of Congress also sent 
individually. In this connection we note that Sykes, Chad- 
wick & Co., of Willards' Hotel, sent .f;250, and Hon. T. J. 
D. Fuller, .$100. As these and the above-referred-to sums in 
no sense passed through our hands, they do not appear in 
our statement. Several ])ackages of clothes were also for- 
warded. 

The sums collected before the organization of the commit- 
tee were forwarded by the gentlemen who obtained them, 
but the amounts were generally returned to the committee 
in the list of subscriptions. The money collected under 
direction of the committee was deposited in the First National 
Bank^ with the cashier, W. S. Huntington, who had kindly 
consented to act as our treasurer. It was supposed that you 
v/ould have drawn the balances from time to time as fast as 
any considerable sum accrued, but there seems to have been 
some misunderstanding at the Bank on this point. The 
particulars of Mr. Huntington's receipts have been made 
known to you by the account sent October 18, 186G, and 
hence merely the aggregate is set down in our accompanying 



statement. Since his account was made up, several small 
sums have been handed iii for payments of subscriptions. 
These were at once forwarded to you, and appear in our 
statement. 

It will be perceived from the figures we give you that full 
twelve thousand dollars (|12,000) have been collected here 
for this noble and humane purpose. 

We must especfally thank the Globe office for the cheerful- 
ness with which they gratuitously printed the numerous'cir- 
culars, &c., the committee found it necessary from time to 
time to publish. This work was done in addition to generous 
pecuniary contributions from the proprietors and the em- 
ployees in their office. In the same connection we also men- 
tion the Chronicle and Intelligencer of the daily press of this 
city, while to these papers, and the Star and Republican, we 
are under large obligations for valuable and free assistance 
in editorial and advertisement. 

The meetings of the executive committee were many, and 
.their work and that of the collectors very arduous ; but all 
these services were rendered most cheerfully, and each 
seemed to vie with the other in zeal for carrying on so 
good a cause. 

We cannot close v/ithout saying that we heard with espe- 
cial pleasure that you were so greatly blessed in your efforts 
to provide for the wants of your afflicted and destitute 
townsmen. We are also rejoiced to hear that your city has, 
in the few months which have passed since the conflagration 
raged, made such rapid steps toward recovering materially 
from the effects of this disaster. We trust that a few years 
will suffice to blot out all external traces of the woe and 
desolation, and that the fact of the Great Fire wiir only live 
in history. So long as that record lasts,, .it will be good for 
men to remember how cordial, fraternal, and Christian was 
the common response in sympathy and means for the needy 
and sorrowing in those dark hours of calamity which hung 
over your beautiful city. 

With respect, your obedient servant, 

L. DEANE, Secretary. 



6 

Memorandum of the collections iii Washington, D. C, reportedi 

to the Executive Committee in behalf of the sufferers by the 

Portland Fire : 

Dr. 

Commissioner of Public Buildings $153 00 

Navy Department 50 00 

Patent Office 200 00 

C. A. Pitcher, and collections at large 477 00 

Secretary's Office, Interior Department 105 00 

Freedfmen's Bureau 255 75 

Quartermaster General's Office 232 00 

George A. Bailey 1,000 00 

Booksellers and Printers 507 10 

Pension Office 134 50 

Indian Office 45 50 

State Department 212 00 

House of Representatives 1,540 50 

Paymaster General's Office 175 00 

Post Office Department and Sixth Auditor's Office 3G7 00 

Hon. Horatio King ... 100 00 

Dr. 0. H. Nichols 25 00 

Second Auditor's Office 303 00 

Employees in U. S. Senate 114 50* 

War Department 727 25 

Bankers and brokers 1,125 00 

Congregational Methodist Church 19 00 

Secretary's Office, Treasury Department 442 00 

Register's " '• '• 274 00 

Note Printing Bureau '• •• 242 00 

Treasurer's Office, " " 154 50 

Second Comptroller's Office, Treasury Department 131 00 

Third Auditor's " " " 119 50 

Comptroller of the Currency's Office, Treasury Department 115 50 

Fourth Auditor's " •' •• 87 00 

Light-House Board ■• • •• 61 00 

Solicitor's •■ '• •• 58 00 

First Auditor's '• '■ " 52 00 

Commission of Customs " " 40 00 

First Comptroller " " 39 50 

Auditors " " 32 00 

Attorney General's Office 42 00 

Calvary Baptist Church, (Rev. Mr. Ilowlett) 44 58 

German Lutheran Church 50 00 

Wesley Zion Church (colored) 13 20 

East Washington M. E. Church 15 00 

Trinity Church (Rev. Mr. Keeling) 64 25 

Carry forward $9,945 13 



Brought forward $9,945 lo 

Rev. J. M. Berry 8 58 

First Presbyterian Church (Dr. Sunderland) 112 55 

CollectioDsby Mrs. G. "\V. McLellan 40 00 

Hon. R. Wallach , 25 00 

Cash subscriptions at First National Bank 268 00 

Cash on Huntington's account, July 27, 1866 378 85 

New York Ayenue Presbyterian Church (Dr. Gurley) 98 98 

Internal Revenue Office 205 00 



$11,082 09 



Cr. 

Sent by W. S. Huntington, per his account forwarded Oct. 18, 1866. ...$8,483 59 

George A. Bailey 1,000 00 

Hon. H.King 100 OO 

Patent Office (additional) 100 00 

Internal Revenue Office 205 00 

Second Auditor's Office 268 00 

Moses Titcomb and others (Senate employees) 114 50 

Hon. S. H. Hooper, of Mass 500 00 

Paymaster General's Office 175 00 

J. C. Lewis (collections at large additional) 50 00 

Sixth Auditor's Office (additional) 51 00 

Quartermaster General's Office (additional) 10 00 

Congregational Methodist Church. 19 00 

Commissioner of Public Buildings (additional) 6 00 



$11,082 09 



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